It is known that the impact of poor postural control influences both breathing and upright movement, and leads to long-standing ramifications in the template of muscle and connective tissue (myofascia) that supports our organs and skeletal frame. The cultural phenomenon of sitting in a car, or at a work desk, and performing repetitive tasks takes a further toll on the body as it adapts to the imposed demands. The body's response is to build stronger muscle and lay down connective tissue over the specific areas that are overworking, in what is essentially a futile attempt at stabilizing itself. This eventually leads to inefficient posture, and altered biomechanics, as range of motion becomes restricted and musculoskeletal compensations create an imbalance throughout the entire body.
Maintaining physical fitness and muscle tone is a challenge for many who find they have little time for gyms, fitness classes, running or biking regimens or the like. A convenient means to exercise during a busy day is required in many cases, often entailing forms of exercise that can be conducted in the home, office or hotel. Calisthenics may work for some, but without proper training may offer quite limited results and/or unbalanced or harmful results, and are uninteresting leading in time to loss of dedication. Various cardiovascular workout machines such as treadmills, stair climbers, stationary bicycles and the like, as well as weight training equipment and machines, are also in common use, but require a dedicated location, often a quite extensive area. Moreover, in use such machines and equipment tend to restrict natural patterns of body movement.
Many, if not most, exercise machines inhibit natural movement patterns and are only utilized within a context restricted to very specific situations. Some such machines are designed so that the initial stages of a movement start from an unsuitable biomechanical position and force the lumbar spine into a fully flexed position. Such positions actually increase the risk of low back injury. If an exercise machine requires a seated position, it prevents training the feet, ankles, knees, and hips to absorb the necessary loading and proprioceptive challenges encountered in active daily living, serving instead as the kind of tool used by body builders to increase the size of certain muscles without much crossover in functionality.
A huge variety of more compact physical training devices have been conceived of for both cardiovascular and muscle work out, but most target only a limited muscle group at best. Moreover, such devices often inadequately train the muscle group for which they are intended (for example, training a muscle without a full range of motion thus leading to unbalanced musculature and/or impeding proper joint movement). Some devices may actually cause more harm than good when used without adequate supervision, for example by positioning the user in a less than advantageous biomechanical position (often a precursor to injury). Often balance training and core strength and stability training are overlooked entirely, two quite important forms of training, particularly for workers, athletes, as well as for an aging population in general.
Balance boards, balls and similar such devices have been partially successful in addressing the need for balance and core training, and a variety have such devices are known (see, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0023766 and 2003/0032533, and U.S. Design Pat. No. D489,778). Likewise, devices utilized with upper body exercises such as push-ups, and having means to vary exercise parameters, have also been suggested and/or utilized (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,358,463, 4,134,584, 5,632,707, 4,768,778, 4,610,448, 5,713,823, 6,186,930, 6,716,145, 5,205,802, and Des. 374,405, for example).
Such heretofore suggested and/or utilized devices, however, are typically directed to only a single variety of exercise and provide only limited adaptability of workout parameters even within the exercise type to which they are directed. In addition such devices are often unduly complex, unwieldy, and/or bulky, and can be difficult to adjust, maneuver and/or use.